united states

Fighting was a practiced routine for Lieutenant Ivan Castro. But when a mortar round struck the rooftop of his sniper?s post in Iraq, he found himself in a battle more difficult than even he could have imagined. The direct hit killed two other soldiers and nearly claimed Castro?s life as well. Mangled by shrapnel and badly burned, Castro was medevac?d to Germany more dead than alive. His lungs were collapsed. He couldn?t hear. One eye had been blown out, the nerve to the other severed. In the weeks and months that followed, Castro would find that physical darkness was nothing compared to the emotional darkness of loss and despair. Desperate for a reason to live, he eventually fought his way back to health through exercise and a single-minded goal: running a marathon. Once he set his course, there was no stopping him. Stubborn to a point that at times bordered on insanity, he managed not only to recover but to return to active duty. Since 2007, he has run over two dozen marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2013, where he was one of the runners diverted when the bombs exploded.

Americans revere their Constitution. However, most of us are unaware how tumultuous and improbable the drafting and ratification processes were. As Benjamin Franklin keenly observed, any assembly of men bring with them "all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests and their selfish views." One need not deny that the Framers had good intentions in order to believe that they also had interests. Based on prodigious research and told largely through the voices of the participants, Michael Klarman's The Framers' Coup narrates how the Framers' clashing interests shaped the Constitution--and American history itself.

An illustrated introduction to the Declaration of Independence, from its origin to its final home in the National Archives.

Selections from essays and other historical documents relating to the creation of the Declaration of Independence and its significance for the new American nation.

Explores the true story of four African American female mathematicians recruited by the U.S. government during World War II to work at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory. Their job involved being "human computers," using pencils, slide rulers, and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would allow rockets and astronauts to be launched out of the atmosphere.

"Engaging images accompany information about recon missions. The combination of high-interest subject matter and light text is intended for students in grades 2 through 7"--Provided by publisher.

A graphic exploration of significant people and events in U.S. history between 1750 and 1783, including the French and Indian War, the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and the Revolutionary War.

Forced into an internment camp at the start of World War II, eighteen-year-old Yuki enlists in the Army to fight for the Allies as a member of the "Four-Four-Two," a segregated Japanese American regiment.

Presents an overview of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and examines the debate which has surrounded the right to own and bear arms.

"Before Edward Snowden's infamous data breach, the largest theft of government secrets was committed by an ingenious traitor whose intricate espionage scheme and complex system of coded messages were made even more baffling by his dyslexia. His name is Brian Regan, but he came to be known as The Spy Who Couldn't Spell. In December of 2000, FBI Special Agent Steven Carr of the bureau's Washington, D.C., office received a package from FBI New York: a series of coded letters from an anonymous sender to the Libyan consulate, offering to sell classified United States intelligence. The offer, and the threat, were all too real. A self-proclaimed CIA analyst with top secret clearance had information about U.S. reconnaissance satellites, air defense systems, weapons depots, munitions factories, and underground bunkers throughout the Middle East. Rooting out the traitor would not be easy, but certain clues suggested a government agent with a military background, a family, and a dire need for money. Leading a diligent team of investigators and code breakers, Carr spent years hunting down a dangerous spy and his cache of stolen secrets. In this fast-paced true-life spy thriller, Yudhijit Bhattacharjee reveals how the FBI unraveled Regan's strange web of codes to build a case against a man who nearly collapsed America's military security"--from dust jacket.